The name Ben-abinadab is not a personal name but a title or patronymic, meaning “Son of Abinadab.” This practice was common in the genealogies and administrative lists of ancient Israel. He is recorded in the King James Version as one of the twelve chief officers appointed by King Solomon to manage the civil and economic affairs of his expansive kingdom.
I. Role in Solomon’s Administration
King Solomon organized his kingdom into twelve administrative districts, each overseen by a single officer whose primary task was to collect provision for the vast royal household. The duty was demanding, as each officer had to supply the king’s court for one month out of the year. Ben-abinadab was entrusted with one of the most vital regions:
“And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. … The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: “ (1 Kings 4:7, 11, KJV).
- The Region of Dor: Ben-abinadab was given responsibility for the region of Dor, a key coastal area and commercial hub, highlighting the economic importance of his position.
II. The Royal Connection
Ben-abinadab is the only one of the twelve officers explicitly mentioned as having married into the royal family, signifying his status and the king’s trust:
“…which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife:” (1 Kings 4:11, KJV).
This marriage solidified his bond with Solomon, integrating the administrative authority of the kingdom with the monarch’s personal household. This detail illustrates how Solomon used family ties and marriage to secure the loyalty and competence of his top officials, ensuring the stability of the empire.
III. Context of Service
The position held by Ben-abinadab and his eleven counterparts demonstrates the unprecedented wealth and administrative capacity of Solomon’s golden age. The sheer volume of supplies they were responsible for collecting underscores the burden placed upon the kingdom’s districts:
“And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, And ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl.” (1 Kings 4:22-23, KJV).
Ben-abinadab’s service, though brief in the scriptural record, represents the zenith of Israel’s worldly glory before the spiritual compromise and subsequent division that followed.